Mikaela Shiffrin has revealed she is experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder after a crash in November and will not defend her giant slalom gold medal at the Alpine skiing world championships.
The American skier, who holds a record 99 World Cup victories, sustained a severe puncture wound during a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont, on November 30. The injury caused significant trauma to her oblique muscles.
In an audio message shared with The Associated Press on Monday, Shiffrin admitted to struggling mentally with regaining her speed and power in turns. “I’m mentally blocked from reaching the next level of pace and putting power into my turns,” she said, describing the psychological struggle as more intense than she had expected.
She had hoped that returning to Europe and getting consistent training would help her regain confidence and overcome her fear. However, the injury was far more severe than initially thought—whatever pierced her during the fall nearly punctured her abdominal wall and colon. Last month, she told The Associated Press that the injury was just “a millimeter from being catastrophic.”
